The Visitor
by Hoptzop
Summary: One night in the Huldrawood, the Marra notice a mysterious new visitor. Who is he? Where did he come from? And why is he in Trolberg? The Marra and Hilda must work together in order to uncover his secrets.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ahhh, campfires. That lovely tradition when you and your friends get together, tell ghost stories, roast marshmallows, and enjoy life in the fresh air of nature. Given its beautiful nature, it's no surprise that Trolberg is a prime destination for camping. And that's exactly what was going on today.

In the forests outside the city, a teenage girl was walking her usual route. Her hair was done up in two pigtails, and her long sweater shielded her from the cold autumn wind. She carried with her some matchsticks and kindling; she was headed for the clearing where she and her friends gathered every night to share scary stories.

But in this case, they were the monsters.

The girl was a Marra, a nightmare spirit all too familiar to the inhabitants of Trolberg. By day, they were, by all appearances, just normal teenage girls doing normal teenage girl things. But by night, however, they became something much more sinister. Roaming the city, they snuck into the bedrooms of helpless children and besieged them with nightmares perfectly tailored to prey on their worst fears. Trolberg had its own clique of Marra who, when they finished the hunt, liked to gather around a campfire in the middle of the forest, giving each other the juicy details of their own nightmarish deeds.

This particular Marra had, just the other night, found a brand new victim. The Rat King, a bundle of rodents who had an affinity for gossip, had told her all about him. He was terrified of birds, so last night, she took the form of a terrifying giant raven, chasing him around until he nearly collapsed of exhaustion in his dream. She couldn't _wait_ to share the story of how it all went down, and to hear her fellow Marra's own tales of terror. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she temporarily zoned out. Her body went on autopilot as she prepared to start the familiar routine of setting up the fire, but as she got close to the clearing, an unexpected sound snapped her back into reality. Emanating through the forest was the distinct crackling of flames.

The Marra, at first, did not think anything of it. Perhaps Kelly, or another Marra had gotten there before her, and had already set up the fire. As she got closer, however, she knew that something was not right. The sound of the fire suggested a roaring inferno much larger than she had ever seen, and there was a distinct feeling of unease hanging in the air that she could not exactly pinpoint. Creeping slowly towards the clearing, the Marra hid behind a tree and peaked out.

She would never expect what she saw next: the fire was indeed raging, and it was massive, reaching out to where the benches the girls sat on would normally have been. Despite this, its shape indicated that it was controlled and in no danger of spreading. Also unlike the normal fires, this one glowed a brilliant blue; the brightness almost hurt to look at. As the Marra scanned the scene, she quickly realised that she was not alone.

Kneeling next to the fire was what appeared to be a boy. He was smartly dressed with a large toque upon his head, and appeared to be around her age, if a bit younger. His face was quite dashing, the Marra momentarily thought to herself, but her attention quickly shifted to his eyes: they were glowing a bright blue, the same colour as the fire in front of him. From the looks of his pose, it was almost as if he was embracing the fire. Upon his face, lips were moving, as if muttering something; he was, however, completely silent.

As she was witnessing this unsettling scene in front of her, the Marra unknowingly leaned on a small twig, cracking it. It only made the slightest sound, but the boy immediately heard it. His face instantaneously snapped to look at her, completely stone faced. She was able to get a good look at his face for a couple of seconds, before suddenly he vanished in a flash of blue light, the fire with him. The Marra was speechless; the site where just seconds before a massive fire had been was now completely normal. She pondered this odd occurance for a few seconds before she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Hey Twintails, everything all right over there?"

Kelly approached from the trail with the rest of the Marra in tow. The twin-tailed Marra was relieved that she was finally in familiar company. At ease, she recalled the incident which happened just a few seconds prior:

"You won't _believe_ what happened. So I was walking towards the regular place, when I hear flames. I look, and I see this kid in front of a _massive_ blue fire. He had these weird blue eyes, and looked like he was almost kinda hugging the fire. When he noticed me, he stared at me for like two seconds, and then wisped away."

The rest of the girls were intrigued. They weren't sure what to make of this news, though Kelly did add that she saw the blue light streak away from the site, but wasn't sure what it was.

"That sounds really weird. I've never noticed anything like that. It's kinda creepy that someone else was here. Do you think this is a new thing?"

"I've been here more times than I can count, and at every possible time of day. I've _never_ seen anything like this before." The Marra started thinking, when she came up with an idea: "I know, we should see if he comes back sometime. He didn't strike me as dangerous, I think I just spooked him. He also kinda acted like one of us, but there was something _different_ about him."

"Where are you going with this exactly?"

"We should come earlier and wait for him. We _have _to find more about him." The Marra started to become very excited. "He looks similar to us, he was using our campfire, and besides, he's cute-"

The twin-tailed Marra stopped herself and started to blush when she realised what she had said. The rest of the girls started giggling, as the other started shouting at them to shut up.

Despite the unexpected encounter, the rest of the night continued as normal. The girls discussed their exploits, and they also talked about life in general. A friend of Kelly's coming to visit, gossip, and ideas for making even scarier nightmares were all topics of discussion that night, along with the usual nightmares.

"And when he thought it was finally over, that's when I brought out the snakes. He was crying so hard, I had to get out because I woke up his parents. It was _great_."

"I found a real pair of scaredy-cats. I was just able to stand in their room, and they started screaming for their lives. I think it was the funniest thing I've ever seen."

As the night wrapped up, the girls were planning on how to deal with the mysterious visitor. There was a certain sense of unease amongst the girls; after all, they were dealing with a mysterious possibly person who seemed to have quite a few powers of his own; this could be a bit dangerous. At the same time, there was great excitement; the Marra were eager to get to the bottom of this mystery. The suspense was palpable, but for now, it was time to wrap up for the evening. Once they finished, the Marra disappeared into the night, leaving not a trace.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day passed rather uneventfully. There was no sign of the mysterious visitor during the day, though this wasn't really surprising. When school ended, Kelly and Twintails met up outside. Their minds quickly went to the night before.

"So, what do you think he was?" asked Kelly. "You saw him closer, so you must have noticed something important."

The other Marra pondered for a second, and then gave her answer. "Honestly, I thought it was another Marra at first. But some things weren't right. I've never seen a boy Marra before, and he was glowing blue, not green."

"Hopefully we can catch him again. I really want to see-"

Kelly's sentence was interrupted by a sudden shout from the other direction.

"Hey Kelly!" The girls turned to see a turquoise-haired boy running towards them.

"Gyula! You made it!" Kelly and the boy hugged, as Twintails looked on in surprise.

"So who's this? She asked, "You guys know each other?"

"Yeah! Remember my friend I was talking about yesterday? This is him." The boy turned to the Twin-tailed Marra and shook her hand.

"Hello! My name is Gyula. You are Kelly's friend, correct? I hear much about you. Is nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too, Gyula. So how did you guys meet?"

"Remember when we did pen pals all the way back in primary school? We met each other through it, and decided to stay in touch afterwards. Gyula's in Trolberg for a special exchange program."

"Well, that explains the accent," chuckled Twintails. "I guess I should also introduce myself properly."

Twintails and Kelly chatted with Gyula some more, sharing stories, gossip, and small talk. Gyula spoke of his time in the Pioneers, his homeland's equivalent of the Sparrow Scouts, and mentioned that his other friend, Mihaly, was also in Trolberg with him. He had actually intended to introduce the girls to Mihaly, but was not able to find him for the past few days. The trio ended the day by taking Gyula for a little tour of Trolberg, showing him the sights and the important landmarks. As the day drew to a close, the three said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Twintails had decided to walk back home. As she began her journey, however, she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"I thought we told you to stop!" cried the blue-haired girl in anger.

The Marra, unamused, turned around to face the unexpected guest.

"Kid, what on earth are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me! We agreed that you would stop giving David nightmares! Why, then, has he been having them the past two days?"

"You sure this isn't a regular nightmare? None of us have so much as looked at him since that day."

"If this was just a normal nightmare, then why did he see one of you when he woke up? I know it was you guys; just admit it!"

"Kid needs to get his eyes checked, then. It wasn't us. We're the only Marra in town. But then again…"

Her memories flashed back to the night before, and the mysterious visitor.

"On second thought, I might know _something_. But I need to see it for myself to know for certain. Tell you what, if you let me, I can go in your little friend's room tonight and keep an eye out."

"NO! Absolutely not! Why would I let you anywhere near David after what you've done?"

"Look kid, I don't know how else to prove it. We didn't do anything, so whatever is bothering your little friend has nothing to do with us. And unless you want these nightmares to keep continuing, I suggest you let us take a look. We're Marra, the nightmare experts. If anyone can fix this, it's us. And besides, if you're really that scared, you can take as many belts as you want with you."

The girl hesitated, but she listened to the Marra's words carefully. She _did_ seem to be telling the truth, and at this point, the little girl was out of options. She grit her teeth and extended her hand.

"Fine, but you have to PROMISE not to touch David."

"Sure sure, whatever, I'll do what I'm told. Now, it's getting late, so we should probably get going now if we want to catch this thing. And also, wait… what's your name again kid?"

"It's Hilda."

"Hilda… I'll try to remember that this time. Now let's go."

Hilda led the Marra to David's house. When they arrived, a small black cat was sitting on the steps.

"Aww, look at the little kitty, he even has his own hat! I didn't know the kid had a cat!"

"He doesn't, it probably belongs to somebody else. Now let's hurry, David is about to go to bed."

The two rushed to the door, and rang the doorbell. David's mum was surprised to see Hilda arriving at such a late hour. She was even more surprised at the unexpected visitor she brought along with her. Hilda explained to David's mum the situation, and how they planned to figure out what was happening. David's parents weren't exactly on board with the idea, given the girl's history, but nevertheless, they eventually agreed, as they were beginning to run out of options.  
The two girls ran to David's room. Fortunately, he was still awake, but was shocked when he saw his former tormentor standing in front of him. Hilda had to reassure David that this was part of the plan, and that she was going to help them catch whatever force what attacking him this time.

Hilda and David decided they would do the same thing they did to catch the Marra; they swapped outfits, switched places, and got their belts ready. This time, however, the Marra was with them, standing guard for any mysterious visitors who decided to drop in. The three finished setting up, got into their hiding places, and waited.

An hour passed; all was still silent. There was no sign of anything abnormal.

And then-

"Mew"

The cat from outside seemed to have followed them in. Hilda and the Marra waited with suspense for its next move. At first, it was just sitting in front of the door, motionless. It scanned the room, and then started to move. But it did not move like a normal cat. Instead, its pitch black form began to warp itself into a shapeless mass. The mass grew, and then began to form into the shape of a humanoid. Hilda and the Marra watched as the "cat" revealed its true identity.

"It _was_ him."

The same boy from the forest had now arrived in David's bedroom. His eyes glowed blue with power. Silently, the visitor began to float towards the bed. Hilda pretending to be asleep, readied herself. As the being was hovering over her just a few centimetres above, she leapt into action.

"Take _this_!"

Hilda flung her belt at the intruder. The creature did not have time to react to Hilda's attack.

But he didn't need to.

As Hilda and the Marra watched on with shock, the belt harmlessly passed through the intruder.

"And just what do you think _you're_ doing, child?"

The creature, now furious, swiped at Hilda, but she dodged and managed to grab him. The two struggled, knocking things around and making a mess. Hilda was shooting a glare at the Marra hiding in the corner.

"Are you going to _help_?"

The Marra decided to take action. She stood up and shouted.

"So that's who you are!"

Her voice distracted the creature, who immediately looked at her. In the confusion, Hilda was able to grab the creature and shove him against the wall. The impact knocked down a horseshoe, which fell on top of the intruder, pinning him to the ground. As he was struggling to get free, Hilda and the Marra walked over to him, arms folded.

"Well well well, looks like we just found somebody's weakness!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Grrr… Get this thing off of me!"

The creature struggled to break free of his shackles, but to no avail. Hilda, now having the upper hand, used this opportunity to interrogate him.

"Who are you, and why are you hurting my friend?"

The creature refused to answer and just scowled at Hilda. Frustrated, she turned to the Marra.

"You know what? You try talking to him. You're a nightmare spirit, so he should listen to you. I'm going to get David. Do _not_ let him escape while I'm away."

"Don't worry, Kid, he's not getting out of here. Not while I'm watching."

Hilda left the room to get the others, leaving the Marra alone with the mysterious boy. Hoping to get at least some information out of him, she tried breaking the ice.

"Hey, what's your name? You can just call me Twintails."

The boy appeared hesitant to speak, when he looked down at the horseshoe which had pinned him to the ground. He looked back at the Marra, took a deep breath, and answered her.

"...Mihaly."

"Mihaly! It's nice to meet you! So, you're a nightmare spirit too?"

When Mihaly heard the Marra's words, his demeanor immediately changed. He suddenly perked up and started listening intently.

"Too? You mean…"

"Yep, I'm a Marra. Believe me when I say you picked the wrong kid to mess with. Trust me, I've tried too. The exact same thing happened to me."

The Marra explained how she too once picked David as a target, but got more than she bargained for when a certain blue-haired girl got involved.

"I see. But if you were just enemies, then why are you helping her now?"

"Because she thought you were me, and I needed to clear my name. Simple as that. If I didn't, she'd _never_ leave me alone."

As the Marra finished her sentence, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall.

"Looks like they're coming. Tell you what, when the kid's done with us, meet me outside on the other side of the street. I want to ask you a couple of things."

"Sure. I guess I have a few minutes."

As soon as Mihaly finished his sentence, David and Hilda came into the room.

"So it wasn't the same Marra after all…"

David looked over his now powerless tormentor, both with a sense of fear, but also with a sense of satisfaction at seeing the being who had terrorized him just days before now powerless on the ground. Hilda, on the other hand, was just angry. She marched over to the prisoner and gave him an ultimatum.

"I don't care what you are or where you came from. _Never _touch me or my friends ever again, or there'll be trouble. Got it?"

"Fine, just let me go!"

Hilda walked over and picked up the horseshoe, unpinning Mihaly. As he left, he shot back one last glance at the Marra.

"I'll be outside." he whispered, as he disappeared in a wisp of brilliant blue flame.

When he was finally out, Hilda turned to the Marra with a suspicious look on her face.

"How did you recognize him?"

"Funny thing you should ask. Just yesterday, I saw him for the first time in the Huldrawood, but he ran off before I got a chance to talk to him. Neither me nor any of the Marra know who or what he is, so if you're trying to figure out more, I'm afraid you're on your own, kid."

"Anyway, I've got things to do, so I can't sit here and chat any longer. Peace."

The Marra wished out the window, leaving Hilda and David alone in the room. After she left, Hilda turned to David.

"I've got a bad feeling about him, even worse than I have about the Marra. We need to figure out what he is and where he came from. We'll ask the Librarian, she's gotta have something on whatever type of creature he is."

Hilda stayed at David's house for a few minutes, before finally leaving for her own. Just across the street, Mihaly and the Marra had just met up and began chatting.

"So here's the deal. I know a bunch of Marra who live here in Trolberg. We will be having a meeting in the Huldrawood tomorrow night. You remember how to get to the fire, the one where we first saw each other?"

Mihaly nodded.

"Great. We're starting at 20:00. I want you to come so I can introduce you to the rest of the Marra. We can show you the ins and outs of Trolberg, who the best kids to scare are, and much, much more. Does that sound good to you?"

"That sounds excellent; I'll be there. Tomorrow at 20:00. I'll make sure to write that down."


End file.
